Could I Be? (Free & Lonely)
by Kylarileiza
Summary: A devastating job loss has Kyle re-evaluating his life. A couple siblings have a pretty good idea what they think he should be doing, but others have to wonder if this isn't just some mid-life crisis because don't most people work this kind of stuff out in their teens or early twenties? On the other side of things, Kenny has developed into a workaholic. K2
1. Chapter 1

_A/N: Trying to use minimum dialogue. Not sure how long that'll last. I usually devolve into dialogue heavy exchanges quickly. K2, Stendy, other couples mentioned throughout. Enjoy...!_

Kyle exhaled deeply through his nose, trying his best to focus on the alcoholic beverage and steaming hot food that sat before him. He was a lone figure in one of the new, trendy restaurants in downtown South Park, sitting at a bistro table made for singles and couples alike. His cell phone was out next to his plate, an ill attempt to cover up the loneliness and longing that started in his gut and spread until it felt like his bones were too heavy to move under the weight of those smothering emotions. Families were packed into the bigger, more friendly sized booths and parties were spread out among the tables that servers, bussers, and sometimes hosts had hastily pushed together to accommodate parties. Even at the bistro tables that lined the windows, most were occupied with more than one person, whether couples or friends. Kyle had only noticed one other table with just one person and that man clearly looked like he was there for business, dressed to the nines in a suit and having a laptop that he was deeply engaged with even as he broke away to speak to the servers when they stopped by, eyes rarely leaving the screen. Laughter drifted over from the families packed tightly in their booths, parents beaming at each other and their little ones, siblings teasing each other, kids asking their parents questions about the food. Allowing another quick cursory glance, he noticed one young child running away from a booth, mother and sister both giving chase, other guests laughing amusedly. Smiling himself, he lifted his drink back to his lips, taking a generous sip before returning his attention to his food, a hot chile relleno, smothered with tomato sauce and a medley of melted cheeses.

A male server brushed past, asking if he'd like a water refill and Kyle declined with a shake of his head, making sure to mutter a quick thank you. He wished Stan or Ike had been available to eat out with him, but he appreciated the time alone. It had been a good two months since he'd moved back into South Park, suffering a devastating and sudden job loss in Denver. His parents thought he was stressing out too much about it and he'd quickly bounce back, but his parents weren't seeming to grasp that he'd put application after application after application out there and things were looking pretty grim to his eyes. He'd even started to apply in the other "Four Corner" states, Nevada, Arizona, and New Mexico. Moving to Denver had been hard enough for him, the idea of starting anew in Phoenix, Tucson, Las Vegas, Reno, Albuquerque, or even Santa Fe was downright terrifying to his mind. He certainly wasn't getting any younger, already having completed university, obtaining a master's degree and starting a career in law. Starting to wish he would have considered a career in something less driven, he chewed on his food thoughtfully, letting his mind wander into dangerous territory. It was hard to recapture that stamina from his youth at times, not that life wasn't interesting working in law, he'd definitely seen and heard things he was sure not many were privy to. Getting into a new law firm as a laid off lawyer wasn't exactly easy and the interviewing lawyers could usually spot out right away he wasn't telling the whole truth; he couldn't based on the gag order he'd signed from his former firm. There was a good possibility he'd lose his severance pay and likely the other firm definitely wouldn't hire him. As it were, not many firms were hiring and South Park wasn't exactly teeming with law firms. His father had proposed the idea of him opening his own but Kyle had laughed at that idea; that was one road he wasn't quite willing to travel down yet.

Even with the job loss and moving back in with his parents temporarily, he could appreciate the perks of South Park, such as the nice restaurant he was eating in. He was grateful he hadn't ran into anyone from his past on this outing. Expecting to see his former peers everyday when he'd moved back, Kyle had prepared a story to tell them, fibs mixed in to save him from the shame he felt burn his cheeks when he'd told his parents about losing his job. As luck would have it, he had ran into precious few of his peers and been surprised at the amount of people that he didn't recognize. Had his sleepy little town always had this many people or was it just the people had changed? The first former peer he'd seen, he didn't need to run into because he himself had practically ran to him was his best friend, Stan. When Kyle had left South Park, Stan had stayed, not really having much desire to travel. It hadn't been but a couple years after high school that Stan had asked Wendy to marry him. To this day, Kyle was still surprised that Wendy had been so willing to marry so shortly after high school and before she finished her higher education. She hadn't been as willing to start a family, waiting until after she obtained her degree to agree to having their first child and then their second. Being the progressive feminist she was, Wendy was the one still working while Stan was the one who stayed home with the kids and Kyle knew his best friend loved every minute of it, being the more nurturing one of the two parents. Slight pangs of jealousy did hit him at times when he was around their happy and adorable family but it was usually overwhelmed with the happiness that bubbled up within him for his friends, thrilled that they were getting what they wanted out of life, especially Stan.

Taking another bite of his meal, his eyes wandered around the restaurant again, observing the various people entering and exiting, trying to see if any faces would surface that he would recognize. None, which wasn't that unusual. It was odd, he wondered what so many of his peers were doing now, maybe most were all at their houses with their families like Stan and Wendy. Besides Stan and Wendy, Kyle had run into Craig and Tweek and that was likely because Stan and Wendy had kept in touch with them and grown close to the other couple over the years. Craig and Tweek had no children but would usually go out of their way to still include the other couple in their life, often people with children drifted away from the childless ones as they tended to befriend other parents, more often than not their children's friends' parents. Craig and Tweek had been tipped off about the suspected depression Stan thought he saw in his best friend and the two had worked hard to drag Kyle to bars, even getting him to go to some drag shows over the last few weeks, hoping to lift his spirits some. It had worked, but the niggling thought was always in the back of his head no matter; he needed to find a job and now.

A blonde female busser was now by him asking him if he wanted more water. He nodded weakly trying to swallow down his food as the taste was suddenly similar to dirt at the reminder that he had no job and here he was eating out. It wasn't as if he hadn't saved money and he was sure he'd get his severance pay, but he still fretted over the money, worried it would vanish just as suddenly as his job had. She picked up his glass and squinted her eyes at him, doing a double take as if she wasn't sure she was seeing correctly. Kyle hoped his face wasn't reflecting the worry in his mind too clearly, maybe she was concerned that he was trying to ditch and skip out on the bill. Setting the glass back down on the table, water swishing dangerously close to the top, she stayed by him, trying to work something out in her mind. Finally, she opened her mouth and asked hesitantly, "Kyle…..?"

Kyle's eyes shot up in surprise and he looked at her again. There was a slight familiarity about her, but he couldn't place who she was. Grinning lopsidedly, she nodded her head and said his name again but there was no question to it this time. Discomfort was starting to weave its way into Kyle's expression as he realized he had no idea who was speaking to him. He gave another weak nod, not trusting his voice to not betray that he had no clue who she was. She seemed to get this and laughed, her blue eyes shining with amusement.

"You can relax, Kyle," she assured him, seeing how tense he was. "It's me, Karen, Kenny's sister." _Oh,_ that was the familiarity she had about her. "How long have you been back in town?" Kyle averted his eyes away for a quick second, debating what to tell her. He truly hadn't reached out to anyone and had begged Stan not to go and tell people he was around, he had only been planning to stay two weeks tops when he first got here. Two weeks had turned into three, four, five, six, and now he sat here eight weeks later, face heating up with shame.

"A few weeks," he told her, absently pushing his food around with his fork, appetite completely gone. He hadn't seen Karen in years or Kenny for that matter. He knew Stan more or less kept in touch with him, but they didn't see each other often. Last he'd heard Kenny was still running an auto shop on the south east part of town, a place Kyle didn't get out to often. His and Kenny's friendship had frayed when his friend had dropped out of high school their junior year; Kyle had begged and pleaded with him not to but it had been to no avail. It had later come out that he'd dropped out to work more hours as he and Kevin were the ones paying all the bills since their parents had vanished into Denver likely for drugs and the siblings didn't want to be put into a foster home again or separated; Kyle was sure he'd run into the McCormick's mother once in Denver and his stomach had gone stone cold at the state she was in. Kevin followed in his parents footsteps, vanishing into the dark of one night and the day Kenny turned eighteen, he marched into the courthouse and petitioned for custody of his sister of which he was awarded. _She_ had finished high school and he hoped she'd gone to college, but since she was dressed as a busser, he wondered where that story ended. "You work here?"

Karen smiled up at him. "Yes, part time. I'm still going to college, one day I'll finish." The smile was infectious and Kyle grinned back at her.

"Good, what are you going for?"

"Medical, I want to be a doctor." She beamed and Kyle couldn't help but be impressed. She heard some commotion at a nearby booth and smiled apologetically, explaining she had to go see what was going on but promised to come right back and he better not leave. Kyle simply nodded, not really sure why she was so insistent he stay there until she returned. It took less than ten minutes before she was sliding into the empty chair across from him on the other side of the bistro table. She leaned forward, "So, come again, you've been here a few weeks. Have you seen my brother yet?"

A frown played across Kyle's eyes as he thought on it; he and Kenny had eventually made amends as often happens when time marches on, though Kyle felt that their friendship had never strengthened to what it once was. That might have just been because Kyle had moved to Denver for schooling purposes so soon after everything had went down. "I haven't," he informed her. She backed away, still smiling and unsurprised.

"Yeah, I figured. I'm sure he would have told me if you'd visited." Karen propped an elbow up on the table and rested her chin in her hand, looking thoughtful. Kyle noticed several men pass by, both in the restaurant and through the windows obviously checking her out and he briefly wondered if Kenny would have gone off on these men. He could recall Stan chuckling over some stories of their friend scaring the living daylights out of some of the guys that chose to chase Karen and, apparently, she and her brother had more than one fight about it. She was the definition of what their culture dictated standard beauty to be; blue eyes, blonde hair, big eyes, fit with an hourglass shape, and a killer smile. It had been a few years since Kyle had seen her brother but he knew Kenny shared the same qualities with the obvious exception of gender. Kyle himself wasn't feeling particularly attractive at the moment as he'd let himself go a bit since losing his job; gaining a little weight, not too much but he was sure he was on his way. His hair had grown and he'd made little effort to tame it lately, when he was put together, he believed he saw an attractive person reflecting in the mirror. Right now, he was sure he likely looked more on the wild side than anything else. Karen waited a beat to see if he would say anything and when he didn't, she pried, "What brings you back to South Park? I know the Mexican food here is amazing but people don't often uproot from Denver to get it."

Kyle shrugged, not liking where this conversation was going at all. "Just family…matters," he dodged the question as best as he could and prayed to whatever god might listen for her to not press the matter. She picked up that he didn't want to discuss it. She reached into her apron and pulled out a pen and scrap piece of paper. At that moment, Kyle realized she wasn't a busser, but a server. He wondered if she was still on the clock; she was sure spending a lot of time with him if she had tables she needed to attend to. She slid the paper over to him. It was her brother's name with his cell and business phone and his home address and the auto shop address. He regarded her warily. "Does Kenny know you just give out his personal information like this?" For some reason, this made her burst into a fit of laughter.

"You're too funny, Kyle!" she exclaimed through giggles. "No, I don't just give my brother's info out to _anyone_ , but it's you, and I know he'd love to hear from you. It's not like I'm setting you up on a date." Kyle looked up at her surprised and she went on teasingly, "What? Would you like for me to put a good word in for you?" Kyle's face was starting to turn red as the realization struck him that Karen was much more like her brother than he remembered, the physical similarities were not the only thing they had in common. Kenny had started to date both girls and boys around freshman year in high school and Kyle had always just thought it was some phase likely brought on because Kenny had done everything plus some with girls by that age and how on earth he didn't have twenty kids roaming around would forever perplex Kyle. Kenny was either extremely skilled with protection, good at targeting women who were skilled with protection, or he just couldn't have children. At any rate, based on his interactions with Karen, Kenny had likely had his hands full for a while. The phase had not passed even after Kenny had dropped out, he dated indiscriminately, however, not nearly as often once he'd taken up custody of his sister from what Kyle had been told. Kenny's name had come up less and less without Karen's name attached to it. Karen waggled her brows at him not bothering to hide her mirth at his flustered response. "Why, Kyle, how long has _this_ been going on?" she asked, possessing so much charm she might as well be hanging off a bracelet.

"You really are your brother's sister, no doubt about that," Kyle finally managed get out through his surprise. Karen was just as bold as the boy he remembered from his youth.

Karen's smile brightened for a moment and she nodded in agreement before the smile fell and a thin line replaced it. "You should visit sometime, though, really, Kyle." She scratched behind her ear for a minute suddenly looking uncomfortable. "It'd be good for my brother; all he does is work."

Kyle bit the insides of his cheeks, not sure how well that would go over. Kyle had been jobless for two months; who would have thought, the high school dropout keeping his job while Kyle possessed a master's degree and a good amount of student debt to show for it and now no job; he was sure overqualified for a lot of jobs, he'd discovered. "He still working at the auto shop?"

Karen nodded. "Yeah, he owns the place so he's there _all the time."_ She shook her head slightly and Kyle thought he could detect the start of agitation in her eyes. "It would just," she was scratching the back of her head now, Kyle quickly realizing she scratched at herself when struggling to express something, "you know, it'd probably be good for something or someone new to break up the routine." She offered up another million dollar smile, "And it looks like you could use some excitement, too." There were lyrics blaring at their table without warning and she apologetically pulled her phone out of her apron pocket, pressing it to her cheek and answering. Kyle wondered if it was Kenny, but, based on the conversation he could hear, it sounded more likely that it was one of Karen's friends. After a few minutes of reassuring the person on the other end of the phone that she was off work and on her way, she ended her call, and returned her attention to Kyle. "Don't lose that," she admonished, looking pointedly at the paper with her brother's information scrawled in her loopy cursive.

Kyle grinned at her and was rewarded with another smile. He wasn't sure how soon he would use it, but, "I won't lose it," he promised.


	2. Chapter 2

_A/N: Thank you for the reviews, favs, and alerts! Truly!_

Colors and lights swirled with sounds as Kyle took another gulp of his vodka, he was pretty sure Tweek had ordered him a Sex on the Beach or Spree, he honestly had no idea at this point, but he was fairly certain whatever the drink was, vodka was definitely the main ingredient. At this little gay dive bar that his friends liked to frequent, the drinks were strong as all get out and for only $3, the bar was much more tempting than the nicer bars with the weaker drinks going for $8-$10 a piece. He was pretty sure there was more vodka in this one cheap $3 drink than two at the more expensive bars. A drag queen was perfectly lip syncing the lyrics to an Adele song, putting as much effort into dramatics as humanly possible and with more spirit than a squad of cheerleaders possessed. Kyle looked over at Tweek and Craig and smiled nervously when he realized Tweek had been studying him rather intently. Sipping more of his drink, his eyes wandered back over to the drag queen on the little stage, the only place in the otherwise dimly lit bar to have bright lights shining down on it. Several patrons had gotten up out of their seats and approached the stage, dollars in hand, proffered up to the queen, their way of conveying gratitude and appreciation for the show.

Staring at the antics going on before him and looking decently occupied to Craig and Tweek's concerned but prying eyes, Kyle mulled over the events of the past week. He'd had another job interview and was waiting to hear back, but wasn't getting his hopes up based on the interview. To say it had been tense would be a serious injustice to what the experience had truly been like. He thought back to earlier in the week, almost a week ago, when he'd ran into Karen, Kenny's sister. He'd stuffed the paper she'd written on in his wallet, trying to work up the courage to get in touch. Positive he would have immediately contacted his friend if he'd still had a job, he often felt ashamed when he remembered or spotted the paper there when hastily reaching in for the faded green bills that were folded into the wallet. More often than not, he found his mind drifting back to high school and he wondered if the feelings he felt now were similar to the ones Kenny had experienced when he'd decided to drop out of school. These feelings of dread and near hopelessness, god, he hoped not. He wasn't sure what to do with the paper in his wallet, he was still confused by Karen's actions, she so wanted him to get in touch with her brother. Did Kenny really work that much that his sister needed to go and encourage people to get in touch with him? Every time Kyle had wanted to ask Stan for more information regarding the sibling duo he had found himself going red and unable to ask, embarrassed at some of the stuff Karen had hinted at even if it had been done in teasing.

His hands were clapping in an automatic response to hearing everyone else clap, signaling the end of one drag queen's song and onto the next one; there was a drag queen announcing the name of the next person and making friendly banter with some of the patrons in the bar. Kyle never paid attention to it, he knew Craig and Tweek did since they lived so close by and were familiar with the bars in their area. He appreciated that he could just walk from the bar and crash in their spare bedroom. It was a little more complicated when he wanted to go out with Stan to drink, since Stan and Wendy lived in the suburbs, usually one of them had to stay somewhat sober since they would have to eventually drive back to the house. It's not as if Wendy could pick them up with the kids; there had been once that Craig had agreed to be their designated driver and that had been a really fun night. Definitely one of the most memorable nights in Kyle's books, he hoped Stan felt the same, but he knew his best friend devoted most of his time to his family and adorable baby girls. It's not as if Kyle could feel true jealousy when it came to his best friend's family, he was just so happy that things had fallen so into place for him. More than once, Stan had expressed that he just wanted Kyle to be happy and, if he were being honest, Kyle wondered if happiness was just meant to elude some people; they lived in a country that had a declaration essentially stating the purpose of life was the pursuit of happiness. That was just it, though, it was the pursuit, it never guaranteed being able to obtain the happiness one was pursuing, instead just guaranteeing the right to pursue it. More vodka snaked its way down Kyle's throat, having long lost the burn it used to have and he briefly wondered if he was skirting around alcoholism with the generous amounts he'd been consuming of it lately. It sure made thinking easier for him as his thoughts tended to swirl round and round until he was just staring at a drag queen dancing around like she was recording an advanced aerobics video that would make most people envious, jumping off the stage into splits and doing backflips off the bar all while in high heels.

There was a finger pushing into his skin and Tweek was waving a dollar in front of his face, encouraging Kyle to go to the stage and offer up the green gold. With a roll of his eyes and a smile, Kyle took the dollar and walked up to the stage, holding out his dollar. Feeling flirtatious the drag queen snagged the dollar from his hands with her mouth, offering Kyle a wink before spinning back into her routine. Kyle grinned through his drunken haze before finding his place back at the table with his two friends. Tweek beamed at him while Craig looked on with as little emotion to show as possible, though Kyle could have sworn he saw the corners of his mouth perk upwards. Kyle was soon lost in his thoughts again as he sucked up the last of the alcohol in his drink before nursing the water Craig had set in front of him at some point in the evening. Tweek was staring at him again, head quirked, eyes concerned even through the drunkenness, and mouth pressed into a firm line when asking if Kyle was okay. Kyle flinched slightly at the question; surely, these two knew more than anyone else, possibly more than Stan at this point simply due to how much more available the childless couple was to him. They knew the state of his career and the numerous applications he'd filled out and submitted and his never ending wait for interviews and the doubts that he had over choosing the career he was in. His father had been so proud and Kyle did sometimes enjoy his job, but, oftentimes, he wondered how much happier he would have been if he'd followed his desire to do social work instead of law. He'd helped social workers before as a lawyer but he always felt there was so much more he could be doing. He tilted his head back, polishing off the last of his drink, before assuring Tweek that he was perfectly fine and just feeling plastered. Tweek let loose an appreciative laugh, also feeling the effects of the alcohol in his system. Craig slowly sipped his tonic as he observed the two men with him, making sure they didn't keel over and start upchucking their guts. Stan had been very firm about not letting Kyle get too wasted, a directive that both Craig and Tweek pointedly ignored. The past week had been a little different than previous weeks, as if Kyle had something else on his mind that wasn't job related but he, Tweek, Wendy, and even Stan had failed to extract that information from him. Kyle himself didn't even seem to realize that he was acting a little differently than normal.

The next day, Kyle dragged himself out of Craig and Tweek's spare room around noon, graciously accepting their offer of water, coffee, and a small stack of pancakes. After finishing off his pancakes and downing an unhealthy amount of coffee, he bid the couple goodbye and went to his house briefly only to find it empty, both parents out for different reasons; his dad at work, his mom at a book club. He checked his laptop to see if he had any email notifications regarding the jobs he'd applied for. When he found an inbox with only spam, he flipped his laptop shut and decided he was hungry again despite just eating pancakes. Not too long after he decided that, he also decided he was craving Mexican food, and he knew the perfect place to find it in downtown South Park. Unsure if he was heading in that direction because he wanted to explain to Karen why he hadn't contacted her brother or if he wanted her to reassure him it was okay, that he should still try, he was soon at the host stand asking specifically for a particular server, hoping she was there. Karen's smile chased away the last remnants of his hangover and he could have sworn he saw Kenny smiling at him through her. The two really were more similar than he would have ever guessed or remembered.

"Kyle, hey, good to see you again!" she was bubbly and he found relief at this, he'd been half expecting her to slap him at not contacting her brother. He smiled himself, assuring her it was good to see her, too. She beamed, leading him to a vacant bistro table. After taking his order, she promised to promptly return with his drink, which he had made sure to get tea, skipping out on any more alcoholic beverages for the day despite the temptation. When she returned with his drink, a smile, and eyes that shone with a secret only she knew, Kyle shifted uncomfortably in his chair wondering what he'd gotten himself into. The restaurant wasn't as busy as it had been the last time he'd been around, but it was still much earlier in the day. Karen swung back around after some time, expertly balancing and setting down a plate of steaming hot quesadilla before him with a wink. Kyle was halfway through his meal when he heard some commotion by the host stand at the entrance of the restaurant. He couldn't make out what all was being said, but there was definitely a male voice that carried over, clearly upset. He strained his ears to hear what was going on.

"...said you'd broken your leg! And that you refused to leave with an ambulance?!" The voice was drifting closer and closer, Kyle realized and then he heard a feminine voice respond to the outraged male.

"I know, I told her to call and tell you that. I wanted to get you away from the shop, I have a surprise, you'll love it!" Kyle's heart froze as he realized that the female voice was most definitely Karen and that would likely mean the male voice…..Kyle stabbed at the rice heaped to the side of his quesadilla. Surely, Karen wasn't _that_ bold, was she? Would she really have dragged her brother here just to see him? It's not like he was anybody particularly special. He could hear her voice again as it drifted closer, "Don't leave yet, I swear it'll be worth it!" Good lord, he really hoped she wasn't referring to him, he was beginning to fear he was going to be the biggest let down of the century. Karen thought _way_ too highly of him, apparently. He stuck another mouthful of food in his mouth but the flavor no longer registered on his tongue; his whole body tense. Out of nowhere a voice was by him.

"Kyle…?" Kyle hastily gulped down the food that was still in his mouth, his eyes shooting towards the man standing by Karen. It was odd how similar they looked when standing next to each other; blonde hair, big blue eyes, fit, neither particularly tall due to prolonged malnourishment during childhood. Kenny was a few inches taller than his sister and Kyle was sure he was taller by a couple inches at least. Dressed in an orange jumpsuit, Kenny looked completely out of place in the restaurant. There was grease on his hands and even on his face, giving true testament to the fact he was a grease monkey and had been pulled out of work rather suddenly. Even his hair was matted with grease and his bright blue eyes practically sparked around the grease smeared sloppily and unintentionally on and around his cheeks. The end of a tattoo sleeve peeked out of the long sleeve on his right arm. There was a strong scent of gasoline and nicotine now in the air. Without invitation, Kenny was in the chair across from Kyle with little warning, similar to what Karen had done to him last he'd been there. Kenny grinned at his friend, thrilled to see him. "Kyle! How are you?" Karen beamed proudly at both of them while waiting for Kyle's response.

Kyle gulped again though there was nothing to swallow. Mouth going dry at the matching sets of unsettling blue staring him down, it was all he could do to force his mouth upwards in a weak smile. "I-I'm good," he managed, forcing his vocal chords to work against their will and hoping against hope that his smile reached his eyes. Karen nodded at him and, for whatever unfathomable reason, thought right now would be a good time to ask him how the food was. "It-it's good." His voice sounded far away even to his own ears and distant as if someone else was talking for him.

Karen grinned at him before turning to her brother. "He's cute when he stutters, huh?" she asked shamelessly before flitting away, her laughter in the air. Kenny watched her leave, amusement in his eyes and a smile on his face while shaking his head at her antics. Kyle knew his own face must have been as red as his hair at the comment Karen had left them with. She was just as shameless as he remembered her brother being! Kenny propped his elbow on the table and rested his chin in his hand, striking a pose similar to the one Karen had earlier in the week when Kyle visited. Again, Kyle was stunned at how similar the two were.

Sighing, Kyle found his voice again, a bit unnerved by both the McCormicks at this point. "Uh, I'm sorry she called you from work just to see me…" he attempted a weak apology, guilt creeping into him; if he had just gotten in touch on his own, Karen wouldn't have had to fake breaking her leg to get her brother out here. Wait a second, Kyle thought, finally realizing just how odd the conversation had been. She had faked _breaking her leg?_

Kenny rolled his eyes, his smile never falling away from his face. "I'm glad she did. It's really great to see you here, are you visiting South Park for a little bit before leaving back to Denver?"

Kyle's weak smile was quickly vanishing, the innocent question reminding him of why he was there. He wondered what all Karen had told her brother. He was pretty sure he'd told her that he'd been in South Park for a few weeks at least. He shrugged, feeling self-conscious. "I, uh, there were some family matters…" he trailed off, eyes cutting away from Kenny's curious ones and back down to his half eaten quesadilla. There was a brief silence and Kyle realized Karen hadn't bothered to take an order for her brother. "Want some of my quesadilla?" he asked, attempting to fill the silence and hopefully lead the conversation in another direction.

Kenny declined with a shake of his head, expression morphing from amused to concern quickly, sensing the seriousness behind Kyle's words. "Is everything okay with your family, Kyle?" he asked solemnly.

More guilt ate away at Kyle's insides realizing using his family as an excuse might not be the best idea when dealing with someone like Kenny whose family had very serious issues. Kyle was trying to decide what else he should say, it was amazing to him that Kenny was so at ease; Kyle envied that and he wondered if his own unease was caused by his job situation more than anything else. "No, it-it's not anything serious, everything's fine," he attempted to assure his friend.

Grinning and looking almost catlike, Kenny leaned forward and Kyle's cheeks were blazing again, especially at the next words to tumble out of his friend's mouth, "You _are_ cute when you stutter, Kyle," he said teasingly. He laughed at how wide Kyle's eyes got in his disbelief. Leaning back, he asked about Denver again, much to Kyle's chagrin. "So, you gonna to be here awhile? We could catch up sometime if you want and when I'm not," Kenny lifted his arms up and gestured at the grease to make his point.

"I'll be around for awhile but I hope Karen isn't going to have to keep fake breaking her leg to free up your time," Kyle attempted to joke.

Now Kenny's cheeks started to turn a slight pink, almost hidden by the grease, but Kyle could still see the color peeking out. Kenny glanced away uncomfortable, a pained expression flashing briefly across his face. "Uh, yeah, she really wanted me to come out today. I see why now." Kyle hoped he wasn't turning red again, these two were treating him like he was some kind of rock star. He opened his mouth to say something but the default jingle of a cell phone was going off and suddenly Kenny had a phone to his cheek, smiling apologetically at Kyle. Kenny spoke to the other person on the phone with concern, apparently something was wrong with a car, and Kyle listened as Kenny promised to be there shortly. Ending his call and looking sheepish, he apologized. "I'm sorry, Kyle, I hafta go. Work calls."

Kyle nodded, slightly envious. He wished someone would call his cell phone and he could dash off for work business, too. "No, you don't need to apologize. I get it."

Kenny stood up from the chair and flashed another bright smile to his friend. "It was real good seein' ya again. Get my number from Karen and hit me up before you leave." Kyle nodded again, feeling a little numb but promised he would get the information from Karen, suddenly ashamed that he hadn't used the information in the last week. Just as quickly as he'd appeared, Kenny disappeared and Kyle was pushing the rice around on his plate again, wondering if everything that just happened had actually happened. Karen was there again, face looking odd with no smile or laughter in her eyes, instead looking perturbed.

"What happened to my brother?" she demanded glaring at Kyle as though he was the one who'd made Kenny vanish.

"He got a phone call and had to go. Someone was having an issue with their car."

Karen dropped into the chair across from him, the picture of disappointment. "Kyle, I got him here, you were supposed to keep him here!" she exclaimed sounding all kinds of upset Kyle hadn't carried his weight in this plan of hers that he was only just now being clued into. She shook her head and sighed, turning her head away to look out the window that was near them.

Kyle swallowed some more food before shrugging. "Uh, I mean, he had to work." He was definitely not going to be the one to prevent someone from working. He could have sworn Karen's eyes actually glowered for a moment at this.

"He has employees for that," she snapped. "He could have stayed and ate at least." Kyle shrugged again, unsure what to really say. She stayed seated across from him while he continued to eat his food though it had no taste any longer and he was mainly just doing it for the purpose of having something to do while the silence stretched out between them. Finally, Karen looked at him and there was that mischievous smile with her eyes lighting up and Kyle knew she had an idea again. "I know, you'll just have to come to the house sometime."

Kyle swallowed and nodded. He wasn't going to refuse, he was positive Craig and Tweek had to be getting sick of him at this point and it would be nice if he could expand his social circle a little past his parents, Ike, Stan and Wendy, and Craig and Tweek. Still, the thought hit him again that Karen was sure desperate to get her brother in touch with friends and engage in social activity outside of work. Karen grinned at seeing Kyle agree so easily to meet her brother at his house.


	3. Chapter 3

_A/N: Thanks for the reviews and the favs and follows. Always appreciated! Gets a little more dialogue-y than previous chapters._

The amazing smell of various fried veggies wafted through the air as Kyle approached Stan and Wendy's door. Stan had invited him over for cauliflower stuffed tacos, a recipe he had likely found off The Minimalist Baker, Well Plated, liveeatlearn, or some other hippie vegetarian friendly website. The couple was vegetarian leaning towards vegan but Kyle knew there would be meat in the house as the girls ate meat, both parents deciding to let their children choose how they would like to function in society as they got older. The oldest one was already choosing and asking for more vegetarian styled meals. Kyle definitely envied Stan's cooking abilities, as far as Kyle was concerned, putting together a peanut butter and jelly sandwich was labor intensive enough. As kids, he remembered he used to like cooking, but he lost some of that zest while attending the university, finding it much more convenient to just buy pre-made meals, ramen, or simply not eat, often times not realizing he'd skipped three meals until his stomach was waking him at midnight. It was no wonder he'd stayed so skinny throughout that period in his life. He knocked on the door, not sure if anyone had received his short text of _here._

A young girl opened the door, sporting thick, black hair and blue eyes that matched Stan's to an almost unsettling degree. She grinned at seeing Kyle and quickly opened the door, rushing him for a hug. "Kyle! Kyle's here!" she yelled as she threw her arms around his waist, hugging tightly. Kyle laughed and happily returned the hug.

"Hi, Sage!" he greeted her, having long grown used to the hippie-esque names his friends had chosen for their children, Sage and Willow. He also didn't miss the alliteration going on but at least it wasn't to the same extent that Kenny's family or even Stan's family had been. It took a couple more moments before Sage let him go, grabbing his hand and leading him to the living room, demanding that he play with her, waving her hands at the puzzles that scattered the floor. Guessing that Wendy and Stan must both be preoccupied, he called out that he was there and helping Sage put together her puzzles. He received confirmation from both of his friends, Stan's voice drifting from the kitchen and Wendy's from upstairs; she must be with the toddler, Willow. Kyle listened to Sage drone on about her day and about friends she'd visited and how excited she was to start kindergarten next year, how her Daddy had carted her around town, and how her Mommy was awesome and she wanted to be just like both her parents, but couldn't decide which one she should be. She muttered a little about Willow sometimes waking up her up at night but that it was okay because it was her sister and it's not like it was some monster. After prattling on for a good ten minutes, she cocked her head and looked at Kyle curiously, asking about if he had any kids that she could be friends with because she needed more near five year olds in her life. Her parents just didn't always understand her because she was almost five and so she needed to find other five year olds. Fortunately, when she spoke, she tended to just keep talking over herself even after she asked questions, for which Kyle was grateful. He really didn't want to talk about kids, his mother asked him rather reproachfully more than once, if he ever intended to start a family; he knew she was slightly jealous of Sharon Marsh and her grandkids but he couldn't just go have kids to make her happy. He wasn't even sure he wanted them. He hoped to god Ike did because his mother was going to be very unhappy otherwise. Not only did Sharon have grandkids through Stan, but Shelly had also married and had a couple children of her own, so he could understand his mother's frustrations but there just wasn't much Kyle could do about that and, sometimes, he did feel a little guilty about it. He really hoped they weren't depending on him. Ike had better come through on that front.

Wendy appeared, Willow attached to her hip and she smiled at Sage and Kyle on the floor putting puzzles together. It was mostly Kyle putting them together with Sage talking and sometimes grabbing pieces from Kyle, telling him he had the wrong piece only to put it down herself and proudly claim she'd figured it out. "Sage, we need to pick up the puzzles, dinner's almost ready." Kyle took the cue and started cleaning up the puzzles with her, flashing Wendy a smile in greeting. Sometimes he missed when he could just come to their house and drink with Wendy and Stan and talk about what was going on in everyone's life, but since they had kids, things had changed rather drastically like most people's lives usually did once they had children. Lives did tend to revolve around children; assuming one was born to a good set of parents. Every now and then he would miss those chats they used to have in their late teens and through most of their twenties. After the puzzles were cleaned up, Kyle and Sage both followed Wendy into the kitchen to find Stan finishing off plates each with a few tacos except for Willow, who had her own special meal.

"Smells wonderful in here, honey," Wendy said as she went to work quickly strapping Willow into her chair while Sage climbed into her own chair with some assistance from Kyle. Kyle had to agree with Wendy, it did smell amazing though sometimes he found their meatless meals hit or miss. Sometimes they were amazing and sometimes Kyle left and found food somewhere else afterwards. Today it looked like it was going to be a hit based on the smell alone.

There was clanking of dishes and some pre-dinner chat such as "pass the salt," and "what do you want to drink?" Stan had poured a little bit of wine for the adults and Sage was envious at first but then overjoyed when she got dark chocolate almond milk and acted like the adults around here were the ones missing out. The food was great and Kyle was impressed, he hoped they would be having this again sometime soon and hopefully he'd be invited again. After Sage filled her mother in on all her antics for the day, including Stan at random intervals her recount of the day, the conversation tapered off for a bit. Wendy glanced over to Kyle. "So, how's the job interviews going?" she asked politely, genuinely curious.

Kyle's reply was accompanied with a shrug. "They're going." _Nowhere,_ he mentally added but he didn't want to be the Debbie Downer here as he was starting to feel he always was when he interacted with most of his friends as of late.

"You still hanging out with Craig and Tweek a lot?" Stan asked. Even Sage was looking at him expectantly and he wondered how he kept becoming the center of attention lately. Shouldn't the five year old or two year old be the one hogging everyone's attention right now, he thought, with a glance at her almost pleading with her to do something awesome so they could stop talking about him. Couldn't Willow throw food at the ceiling or something? Why were his friends' kids so freaking well-behaved?

"Yeah," Kyle said with a nod. Probably more than he should be.

Wendy nodded, unsurprised, she'd heard from Tweek and seen the Snapchats from Craig. She wondered if Kyle even knew Craig was snapchatting half their adventures. She had the sneaking suspicion Tweek might not know either. "Have you seen anyone else? I know you were worried about running into other people but you haven't really, have you?" Which was a surprise because it's not like all their peers had left South Park, only Clyde had escaped into a tropical paradise, happily settled into Hawaii. Most of their peers had gotten older and had families or simply didn't like going out as much or couldn't afford it.

Kyle nodded and took a sip of his wine. "Yeah, actually, I saw Kenny the other day." Stan and Wendy had matching shocked expressions while Sage was just confused, asking who Kenny was.

"Is everything okay with your car?" Stan asked slowly, clearly confused how he could have "run" into Kenny.

Kyle frowned, his taco had been halfway to his mouth but he set it back down on his plate. "No, I ran into him at that Mexican restaurant downtown."

"You _ran into_ him? Are you sure you didn't call his shop and he met you there because of your car?" Stan asked, still not quite able to visualize anyone just casually running into Kenny while out and about. He still made quite an effort to stay in touch with Kenny and it was sometimes hard with his family but every now and then he would go out of his way to check on his friend, to see how he was doing. Every time he had done so it involved him going to the shop and essentially volunteering to work for free for a few hours. And Kenny was not one to go out and spend money, all his money went into savings, the shop, Karen, and sometimes to Sage and Willow, Stan knew.

Wendy's mouth formed an "o" shape as she realized something Stan hadn't. "At that Mexican restaurant? The one Karen works at?" Sage's reaction to Karen was drastically different than her reaction to Kenny. She squealed excitedly, demanding to know if Karen was coming over for dinner. Wendy smiled good-humoredly. "She thinks Karen is her best friend; she used to baby-sit for us a lot." When Sage demanded to know why she wasn't still doing just that, Wendy had explained that Karen had started the job within the last two months and had been working a lot and going to school. She looked over at Kyle again after she finished explaining things to Sage. "So I'm assuming you ran into Karen first?" At Kyle's nod, Wendy went on, "Did she get her brother up there?" Another nod and shrug from Kyle.

"Yeah, she was really excited about it. It was kinda weird, honestly," he confessed. "I felt kind of bad, she pulled him out of work."

Stan raised an eyebrow. "What, did she pretend to have a seizure or something?"

Kyle frowned, biting his lip for a second. "No, but she did fake breaking her leg. I guess she really wanted him to see me." Kyle shrugged again. "I guess Kenny must be pretty hard up for friends or something, I don't know. She got kind of upset that I hadn't kept him there longer, but he had to work." He picked up his taco and started eating again assuming that would be the end of the conversation until he saw Stan and Wendy exchange an odd look, clearly knowing something he didn't. "What? Is that like husband wife telepathy? What's wrong?"

"Nothing, nothing," Wendy rushed to assure him. "There's nothing wrong. Did Karen say anything else?"

"No, well, she did invite me over to dinner sometime." There was another awkward silence and both Wendy and Stan looked like they were struggling to figure something out while Sage asked Kyle how Karen was doing and could he bring her to dinner next time because, if she was being honest, she liked Karen a little more than him, but she would feel bad if she didn't let her parents feed him, too.

"She invited you to dinner….?" Stan asked, trailing off uncertainly.

"Yeah, she said I should have dinner with Kenny sometime." Sage whined again that she didn't know this Kenny person and Wendy quickly explained at he was Karen's brother similar to how Willow was Sage's sister. Sage lit up and decided she must like Kenny because he was Karen's brother. Kyle thought for sure that Kenny had likely seen Sage before and she just didn't remember. Wendy frowned at Kyle.

"So she invited you to Kenny's house to have dinner?"

"Don't they both live there?" he asked, slowly chewing his food. Wendy and Stan exchanged another one of those looks and Kyle was starting to wish he had someone other than Sage to exchange mysterious glances with; there was definitely something lost in the effect when it was an adult and a five year old versus two adults.

"No," Stan and Wendy both said flatly. Wendy raked her hands through her hair for a moment before sighing.

"I'll talk to Karen, I haven't seen in her in a little bit, see what she's up to." Wendy was fairly positive she already knew, but still wanted to speak to the younger woman.

Kyle looked at Wendy surprised. "I don't think it's that big of a deal, sounds like she just wants her brother to have a little fun." Really, now Stan and Wendy were acting unusual. He really didn't think it was that odd that Karen would invite him over to have dinner with her brother; they were old friends and she clearly wanted him to get out of the shop some. Sure, she had said some other things Kyle didn't quite feel comfortable filling the other two in on but he knew they had just been said in jest. At least he was pretty sure it had been said in jest; he wasn't quite sure he wanted to even entertain the possibility if there had been no jokes involved. Whatever he was thinking, it was obvious that he was on a totally different page than Stan and Wendy, who oddly enough, appeared to be on the same exact page. Whatever else they were concerned about it soon dissipated and the dinner was over much sooner than Kyle could have wanted. He longed for the days where he could just hang out for hours on end with his friends, but they had to get their kids to bed and sleep themselves. On his way out the door, Wendy proposed that he and Stan go out tomorrow and she'd be on kid duty in the evening. Kyle quickly agreed though Stan's agreement was a bit slower and weaker. Kyle didn't question it though, leaving the house with another round of "thank-yous" for the meal.

After Kyle left, Stan glanced over at his wife. "Why am I going out with Kyle tomorrow night?" he asked though he suspected he already knew why. Not that he hadn't gone out with Kyle often since his best friend had returned to South Park but usually he and Wendy planned this stuff out more than one day in advance.

"I'm going to talk to Karen tomorrow, I'm in the mood for Mexican for lunch," she said smoothly.

"Okay, I still don't see how that ends with me at a bar with Kyle," Stan said slowly as Sage jumped up and down excited everyone was talking about Karen again.

"Depends on what she says," Wendy explained, expression turning thoughtful. "Either way, it'd probably be good to explain it to Kyle over drinks. I don't think he's really catching on."

"No kidding," Stan agreed as they brought the kids upstairs to start their bathtime routine before bed.


End file.
